Breakpoints

How Responsive Variations Work #

The @dialpad/postcss-responsive-variations plugin generates responsive versions of your CSS classes by:

1. Taking the base classes defined in the classes array in the configuration (like .d-d-block)
2. Creating prefixed versions (like .sm:d-d-block, .md:d-d-block)
3. Wrapping them in media queries based on your breakpoint configuration

What the Plugin Does #

Input CSS:

.d-d-block {
  display: block;
}

Generated Output:

.d-d-block {
  display: block;
}

@media (min-width: 480px) {
  .sm\:d-d-block {
    display: block;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 640px) {
  .md\:d-d-block {
    display: block;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 980px) {
  .lg\:d-d-block {
    display: block;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 1264px) {
  .xl\:d-d-block {
    display: block;
  }
}

Setup #

To use PostCSS with our custom plugin @dialpad/postcss-responsive-variations, install it and configure your PostCSS setup.

Configuration #

Step 1: Install the Plugin #

npm install @dialpad/postcss-responsive-variations

Step 2: Configure PostCSS #

In your postcss.config.js, configure the plugin with two main options:

import postcssResponsiveVariations from '@dialpad/postcss-responsive-variations';

// Define your breakpoints
const breakpoints = [
  { prefix: 'sm\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 480px)' },
  { prefix: 'md\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 640px)' },
  { prefix: 'lg\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 980px)' },
  { prefix: 'xl\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 1264px)' },
];

// Define which classes should get responsive variations
const classes = [
  /\.d-d-(flex|none|block)$/,  // Display utilities
  /\.d-p[0-9]+$/,              // Padding utilities
  /\.d-m[0-9]+$/,              // Margin utilities
  '.d-w100p',                  // Width 100%
];

export default {
  plugins: [
    postcssResponsiveVariations({ breakpoints, classes }),
  ],
};

Configuration Options #

breakpoints (optional): Array of breakpoint objects. Each object has:

• prefix: The prefix to use (e.g., 'sm\:')
• mediaQuery: The CSS media query (e.g., '(min-width: 480px)')

classes: Array of class selectors (strings or regex patterns) that should get responsive variations.

Recommended Breakpoints #

Dialtone uses a mobile-first approach with min-width media queries as the default recommendation.

To take advantage of this, simply use the breakpoints provided by the plugin, which are:

[
  { prefix: 'sm\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 480px)' },
  { prefix: 'md\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 640px)' },
  { prefix: 'lg\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 980px)' },
  { prefix: 'xl\\:', mediaQuery: '(min-width: 1264px)' },
]

And in the configuration define only the classes you want to have responsive variations:

import postcssResponsiveVariations from '@dialpad/postcss-responsive-variations';

// Define which classes should get responsive variations
const classes = [
  '.d-d-block',
  ...otherClasses
];

export default {
  plugins: [
    postcssResponsiveVariations({ classes }),
  ],
};

For more context on this approach and its benefits, see our What's New post about mobile-first design principles.

Examples of Class Patterns #

const classes = [
  // Exact match
  '.d-d-block',

  // Regex for multiple related classes
  /\.d-d-(flex|none|block)$/,     // Matches .d-d-flex, .d-d-none, .d-d-block
  /\.d-p[0-9]+$/,                 // Matches .d-p8, .d-p16, .d-p24, etc.
  /\.d-m[tblr]?[0-9]*$/,          // Matches .d-m8, .d-mt16, .d-ml24, etc.
];

Result: The plugin will generate responsive versions like sm:d-d-block, md:d-p16, lg:d-mt8, etc.

⚠️ Performance Note: Be mindful of CSS bundle size when adding classes to the configuration. Each class added to the classes array will generate 4 additional responsive variations (one for each breakpoint: sm:, md:, lg:, xl:), significantly increasing your CSS bundle size. Only include classes that are actually used in your application to keep bundle sizes optimal.

Usage #

<div>...</div>
<div class="d-d-none xl:d-d-block">...</div>
<div class="d-d-none lg:d-d-block">...</div>
<div class="d-d-none md:d-d-block">...</div>
<div class="d-d-none sm:d-d-block">...</div>

Classes #

To help keep prefixes concise, we use abbreviations. This syntax is used consistently across all responsive classes. As the viewport size grows, you can change an elements properties. For example, you can set an element to display normally, but be hidden at smaller sizes: .d-d-block .sm:d-d-none.